"Hmmm, if I could go back to any moment in time, when would I go?" Heather wonders out loud, in response to my question. "I want to say I would go back to the moment, right before I broke both of my ankles doing gymnastics, so I could land the flip right and not break my ankles. However, I learned a lot from that experience and how it feels to be in a wheelchair for quite some time while I was healing. So, I guess I'd have to say my high school trip to Europe during junior year!"

Heather's face lit up and her eyes brightened with excitement as she started reliving the trip in her mind. I asked her what she enjoyed most about the 12 day trip She said, "Everything!" She explained the experience to me as one of those almost-perfect moments in time that could never be repeated. It was a great time and place to be, with great people all experiencing so many new and exciting things for the first time together.

Heather is definitely a glass half-full kind of person. She is a hard worker, who worked while in high school and worked all through college. She is also the sort of person who can make someone feel warm and comfortable right away, as she did for me. She is the type of person who sees a stray cat looking cold and hungry in a parking lot and just cannot leave it behind. In high school, Heather noticed a skinny cat walking around her work parking lot for several days, until one cold October afternoon she came up to her and she was able to pick her up. Heather took the cat home to get warm, fed her, cleaned her up and brought her to the vet. She was nervous that the cat may actually have an owner, but the vet said she was very malnourished, and if she had an owner at some point, they had stopped taking care of her a long time ago. Six years later and she is still Heather's baby.

Heather has already accomplished so much in her twenty-two years: graduating from Lunenburg High School, and obtaining her bachelor's degree from Bridgewater State University in Biology with a concentration in Biomedical and Molecular Science, all-the-while working part-time jobs on the side. After all of her hard work, Heather is finally doing what she loves, science, working in the Cardiovascular Lab in the Sherman Building. She feels very lucky to have landed in such a wonderful lab with two amazing bosses who Heather says have not only been incredible mentors already, but have also been very friendly and patient with her. Although she has only been at UMass for a couple of months, she is already looking into Master’s Degree programs to do part-time in the evenings while she continues working in her new position.

25 Random Fun Facts about Heather Learnard:

Favorite color – Purple

Favorite season – Summer (She is a Summer baby!)

Beach or woods – Beach

Chocolate or vanilla – Vanilla

Dream vacation – Anywhere with sun, sand, and pina coladas

Favorite style of music – Mostly country, but likes a bit of everything

Favorite food – Chicken piccata

Any siblings – 3 brothers

If you could only eat 1 meal for the rest of your life, what would it be – My dad’s pancakes, with real maple syrup, bacon, strawberries and pineapples

If you got stranded on a deserted island with no power source, what 5 items would you bring – A book, sunscreen, water purifier, solar powered radio and a fishing pole

Do you blow dry your hair? or just let it dry on its own, or towel dry – Air dry

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off – Only wears shoes to the gym and does untie them